Bin with improved door seal and content release characteristics

ABSTRACT

A bin for storing and transporting bulk material having a door seal and latch assembly which prevents accidental escape of material in the bin around the door. Pressure and heat relief safety discs are mounted in a number of openings formed in the bin walls to allow for escape of the bin contents under unusual circumstances which would create dangerous pressure or heat conditions within the bin.

waited aies Fatwa Wiese [54] BEN WITH IMPROVED 900R SEAL AND QONTENT RELEASE CHARACTERHSTHCS Delmar R. Wiese, Blue Springs, Nebr.

Hoover Ball and Bearing flompany, Saline, Mich.

Filed: Jan. 13, 1970 App1.No.: 2, 168

Inventor:

Assignee:

US. Cl. .220/31 R, 220/46 R, 220/89 A, 292/49, 292/196 Rut. Cl. ..B65tl 53/00, B65d 43/ 16 Field 01 Search ..220/31, 46, 89 A, 89 B, 32; 169/26, 31; 292/196, DIG. 49

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Wolf n zzo qg Mar, 7, 1972,

Smith et a1 ..292/1% Primary Examiner-Raphael H. Schwartz Att0mey-0lsen and Stephenson A bin for storing and transporting bulk material having a door seal and latch assembly which prevents accidental escape of material in the bin around the door. Pressure and heat relief safety discs are mounted in a number of openings formed in the bin walls to allow for escape of the bin contents under unusual circumstances which would create dangerous pres sure or heat conditions within the bin.

6 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures PATENTEDMAR 7 I972 SHEET 1 BF 2 INVENTOR DELMAR R. WIESE BIN WITI-I IMPROVED DOOR SEAL AND CONTENT RELEASE CHARACTERISTICS This invention relates generally to large metal bins of the type shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,648,428 and 3,130,855 owned by the assignee of this application, and more particularly to a bin of this type which is provided with improved door seal capabilities and safety discs which will release the bin contents in the event of unusual heat or pressure conditions within the bin.

Bins of the general type to which this invention is directed are sometimes used to transport and store dangerous materials such as TNT. In such cases, it is essential that the bin be capable of being sealed shut so that the bin contents cannot leak from the bin during transport and handling of the bin. Furthermore, it is desirable that provision be made for allowing for gradual escape of the bin contents in the event of unusual circumstances resulting in high heat or pressure conditions within the bin. Accordingly, the bin of this invention makes provision for insuring against leakage of the bin contents around the bin door and in addition makes provision for safety discs in the bin walls which can melt or blow out in case of high heat or pressure conditions within the bin.

The bin of this invention has bottom, side and top walls formed of metal and connected to form an enclosure having a single opening in the top wall through which the bin is loaded and from which the bin contents are discharged. The door is hingedly mounted on the bin top wall by a rugged hinge assembly and a double gasket assembly is associated with the bin door and the top wall to positively preclude leakage of the bin contents past both gaskets when the door is closed. A plurality of latch assemblies are provided on the top wall to insure sealing of the bin around the full periphery of the door. In addition plastic safety discs are installed in openings in the bin and the bin door so that in the event a loaded bin is involved in something like a train or truck wreck involving fire, the heated contents of the bin would flow harmlessly out of the bin through openings resulting from melting of the safety discs. Also, it is contemplated that the discs could blow out of the walls of the bin to provide pressure relief openings in the event high pressure conditions arise within the bin at any time.

The principal object of this invention, therefore, is to provide an improved bin of the above-described type.

Further objects, features and advantages of this invention will become apparent from a consideration of the following description, the appended claims, and the accompanying drawing in which:

FIG. l is a foreshortened side elevational view of the improved bin of this invention;

FIG. 2 is a top view of the bin of this invention; and

FIGS. 3-7, inclusive, are enlarged fragmentary sectional views of portions of the bin of this invention as seen from the lines 3-3, 4-4, 55, 66 and 7-7, respectively, in FIG, 2,

With reference to the drawing, the bin of this invention, indicated generally at 10, illustrated in FIG. 1 as including a bottom wall 12, sidewalls M, and a top wall 16 which are assembled so as to form a cubic enclosure. The top wall I6 is formed with an irregularly shaped opening 18 of the same general shape as a door 20 which, in its closed position, overlies the opening 18, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. As shown in FIG. 2, the door 20 has a rear edge 22, a front edge 24, and side edges 26, with the front edge 24 being disposed adjacent one of the sidewalls l4. Adjacent the rear edge of the door 20, a hinge bar 28 is secured by mounting plates 27 to the bin top wall 16, and a reinforcing bar is welded to the underside of the top wall 16. Three hinge assemblies 29 mount the door 20 on the hinge bar 28 for up and down swinging movement about a horizontal axis. Each assembly 29 includes a U-shape bracket 30 which extends upwardly through the top wall I6 and is welded to the top wall 16. The bracket 30 includes a pair of hinge plates 32 secured to the hinge bar 28, as shown in FIG. 4, and a pivot member 34 supported on the hinge plates 32, the three pivot members 34 being arranged so that they are axially aligned. A door support member 36 secured, as by welding 38, to the door 20 adjacent the rear edge 22 thereof, is rotatably supported on each pivot member 34. Resilient sleeves 40 are positioned between the pivot members 34 and the door support members 36 to eliminate any possibility of pinch points on the hinge assemblies 29. In other words, the resilient sleeves 4t permit relatively free hinging movement of the door 20 about the pivot members 34 without any binding of the door support members 36 on the pivot members 34 which might preclude full sealing assembly of the closed door 20 with the bin top wall 16.

' A continuous gasket member 42 is secured to the underside of the door 20 at a position to engage the edge 44 of the top wall opening 18 and extend completely around the opening 118 when the door 26 is closed as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. A similar gasket 46 is secured to the top wall 16 at a position surrounding the opening lltl so that when the door 20 is closed, the outer edge of the door will engage the gasket 46. Each of the gaskets 42 and 46 is of a hollow construction and is formed of a suitable resilient rubberlike material so that the gasket is compressible, the unstressed shape of each of the gaskets being shown in broken lines in FIG. 5. As a result, when the door 20 is closed, a double gasket seal is provided completely around the door opening 18. Thus, in the event the bin top wall E6 on the door 20 becomes distorted in use, so that there is a possibility of leak around one of the gaskets 42 and 46 at some point along the length of the gasket, the other gasket will prevent leakage of material out of the bin 10 around both gaskets.

To insure the desired compression of the gaskets 42 and 36 along their full lengths, in the closed position of the door 20, a plurality of latch assemblies 50, illustrated as four in number, are mounted on the bin top wall 116. Each latch assembly 50 includes a latching plate 52 secured to the door 20 and extending outwardly therefromv Each plate 52 is provided on its top surface with a plastic coating 54, for a purpose to appear presently. Each latch assembly 50 also includes a locking clamp unit 51 releasably engageable with one of the latching plates 52, as shown in FIG. 6. A locking clamp Sll consists of a baseplate 55 secured to the bin top wall 16 and having a pair of upright ears 56 on which a pair of pivot pins 58 are mounted. A locking lever 60, having a head 62 engageable with the plastic layer 54 on a latching plate 52, is pivotally mounted on one of the pins 58. A link 64 is pivotally mounted on the other pivot pin 58. An actuating handle 66 is pivotally connected by pivot pins 66 and 70 to the lever and the link 64, respectively, so that when the lever 66 is moved downwardly, toward the position shown in FIG. 6, the locking lever 60 is moved in a clockwise direction as viewed in FIG. 6 about its supporting pivot 58. In the position of the lever 66 shown in FIG. 6, it is overcenter," namely, in a position in which the pin '70 is below a line connecting the axes of the pins 58 and 68 so that the lever 60 cannot be accidentally released. A safety locking pin 71 is removably inserted through aligned holes in link 64 and lever 66 to further insure against accidental release of the clamp unit 51.

When the lever 66 is moved upwardly, from the position shown in FIG. 6, the lever 60 is moved in a counterclockwise direction to a position in which the head 62 is in a clearance relation with the latch plate 52. As a result, when all of the levers 66 in the latch assemblies 50 are moved to this latter position, the door 24 can be swung upwardly about the pivot pins 34. The provision of the plastic layers 54 on the latch plates 52 facilitates operation of the latch assemblies 50 because it provides compressible low-friction surfaces engageable with the lever heads 62.

It can thus be seen that when the door 20 is in its closed position, shown in FIG. 2, it is readily sealed in this position by operation of the latch assemblies 50, and the provision of a latch assembly 50 for each side edge 26 of the door 20 and the provision of two latch assemblies 50 for the front edge 24 of the door 24 positively insures the desired compression of the sealing gaskets 42 and 46 around the door opening 18. Furthermore, the provision of the flexible sleeve 40 at each hinge assembly 29 provides sufficient flexibility to the rear edge 22 of the door 20 to insure sealing of the door 20 at the rear edge 22. Thus, once the door 20 is closed and the latch assemblies 50 are moved to the locking position shown in FIG. 6, the bin 10 is fuliy sealed so that the bin contents cannot escape through the single opening it} through which the bin is both loaded and discharged. in the event of an accident involving a loading bin i thus fully sealed, it is desirable to make provision for gradual escape of the bin contents so as to avoid any danger of an explosion of a bin. Accordingly, in the bin of this invention, a plurality of safety discs 74 are placed in openings 76 formed in the bin sidewalls 14, the bin top wall 16 and the door 20. As shown in FIG. 7, a safety disc 74 is formed of a plastic material, such as polyethylene, and is placed in a bin opening 76 so as to close the opening. An annular disc holder 78 is snapped into the opening 76 and is provided with a shoulder 80 against which the safety disc 74 is positioned from inside the bin it). A retainer ring 82 holds the disc 74 against the shoulder 80 and a snapring 84 is snapped into a groove 86 in the holder 78 so as to hold the retainer ring 32 in a disc-retaining position. In the event the bin contents become heated to a dangerous temperature, the contents will melt the disc 74 to permit gradual release of the bin contents without an explosion. Also, in the event the pressure inside the sealed bin becomes unduly high, one or more of the discs 74 will be bulged outwardly of the bin 10 to a position in which it will become released from its holder 78 to permit relief from the pressure within the bin. Thus, the safety discs 74 eliminate the hazard that might otherwise be associated with a fully sealed large size bin 30 carrying dangerous material.

What is claimed is:

l. A metal bin for storing and transporting bulk materials comprising bottom, side and top walls assembled to form an enclosure having a discharge opening formed in one of said walls, a door hingedly mounted on said one wall for movement to a closed position overlying said opening, a first compressible gasket member mounted on said one wall in a position extending around said opening, a second compressible gasket member secured to said door and configured to engage said one wall at a position extending around said opening in a spaced relation with said first gasket member in the closed position of said door, and a plurality of coacting latch means mounted on said one wall and spaced portions of said door and operable in the closed position of said door to urge said door toward said one wall so as to compress said gasket members.

2. A bin according to claim 1 wherein each of said latch means includes a latching member secured to said door and a locking clamp mechanism mounted on said one wall and operable to engage said latching member and move the latching member toward said one wall to a locked position in which said gasket members are compressed.

3. A bin according to claim 2 wherein said door has a rear edge, a front edge and side edges, hinge means secured to said rear edge, at least one of said latching members being secured to each of said side and front edges, and said locking clamp mechanisms being mounted on said one wall at positions to engage said latching members.

4. A bin according to claim 3 wherein said one wall is said top wall and said front edge of said door is disposed adjacent one of said sidewalls.

5. A bin according to claim 4 wherein said hinge means includes a hinge bar secured to said top wall and disposed adjacent the rear edge of said door, a plurality of aligned pivot members secured to said hinge bar, resilient sleeves mounted on said pivot members, and door support members secured to said door and mounted on said sleeve members for rotatable movement about said pivot members.

6. A bin according to claim 1 further including means providing openings in said walls, plastic discs ofa size to substantially fill said openings, and retainer means mounting said discs on said walls so as to close said openings. 

1. A metal bin for storing and transporting bulk materials comprising bottom, side and top walls assembled to form an enclosure having a discharge opening formed in one of said walls, a door hingedly mounted on said one wall for movement to a closed position overlying said opening, a first compressible gasket member mounted on said one wall in a position extending around said opening, a second compressible gasket member secuRed to said door and configured to engage said one wall at a position extending around said opening in a spaced relation with said first gasket member in the closed position of said door, and a plurality of coacting latch means mounted on said one wall and spaced portions of said door and operable in the closed position of said door to urge said door toward said one wall so as to compress said gasket members.
 2. A bin according to claim 1 wherein each of said latch means includes a latching member secured to said door and a locking clamp mechanism mounted on said one wall and operable to engage said latching member and move the latching member toward said one wall to a locked position in which said gasket members are compressed.
 3. A bin according to claim 2 wherein said door has a rear edge, a front edge and side edges, hinge means secured to said rear edge, at least one of said latching members being secured to each of said side and front edges, and said locking clamp mechanisms being mounted on said one wall at positions to engage said latching members.
 4. A bin according to claim 3 wherein said one wall is said top wall and said front edge of said door is disposed adjacent one of said sidewalls.
 5. A bin according to claim 4 wherein said hinge means includes a hinge bar secured to said top wall and disposed adjacent the rear edge of said door, a plurality of aligned pivot members secured to said hinge bar, resilient sleeves mounted on said pivot members, and door support members secured to said door and mounted on said sleeve members for rotatable movement about said pivot members.
 6. A bin according to claim 1 further including means providing openings in said walls, plastic discs of a size to substantially fill said openings, and retainer means mounting said discs on said walls so as to close said openings. 